Tensions between a young woman and her parents have escalated to the point where Ohio university student Aubrey Ireland said they make her feel like "a dog with a collar on" -- so she has secured a stalking protection order against the couple.

The 21-year-old music theatre major and dean's list student told the Hamilton County court that her Kansas-based parents, David and Julie Ireland, would regularly travel over 960 kilometres to the University of Cincinnati for surprise visits.

The couple admitted to installing keylogging software on her computer and cellphone, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"She's an only child who was catered to all her life by loving parents," Julie Ireland told the court. "We're not bothering her. We're not a problem." The couple called their daughter a "good actor."